Sheriff's officials identify Santee man who died in custody

Sheriff’s officials on Friday identified a 51-year-old Santee man who he suffered a medical emergency and died Sunday afternoon shortly after deputies arrested him on suspicion of public intoxication.

A deputy spotted Warren Morris around 2:50 p.m. that day lying on a sidewalk behind the Walmart on Town Center Parkway north of Mission Gorge Road, sheriff’s Lt. Rich Williams said.

“When the deputy approached and spoke to (Morris), he sat up and the deputy noticed (Morris) was also in possession of an open container of alcohol,” Williams said in a statement. “(Morris) was found to be so intoxicated he was unable to care for himself.”

The deputy arrested Morris without incident, on suspicion of public intoxication, and sat him in a patrol vehicle, Williams said. But soon after, deputies noticed Morris’ “breathing was labored,” so they called for an ambulance.

Before the ambulance arrived, Morris stopped breathing, so deputies began CPR, Williams said. The medics took over CPR and took Morris to a hospital.

He died at the hospital at 5:11 p.m.

The sheriff’s homicide unit is investigating Morris’ death, as they do with all in-custody deaths, and the county Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.